RuPaul's Drag Race Star Sharon Needles Examines the Dark Side of Fame in New 'Hollywoodn't' Music Video

Sharon Needles can hold tight to her crown as reigning (drag) queen of darkness.

The RuPaul’s Drag Race alum is back with the music video for her new single “Hollywoodn’t,” and PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the campy clip.

“After I went on Drag Race, I was allowed to do so many things,” Needles, 34, said in a behind-the-scenes video (below) of the inspiration behind the song. “I was allowed to do theater, commercial work, television work, modeling, fashion design, and it was great. But the thing with reality television fame is that it’s got a pretty quick expiration date. I had one year of sitting on my dark, macabre, gothic throne and quickly realized that the soothing, Xanax-, Band-Aid-like feeling fame is fleeting.”

Sharon Needles

Nick Blumenthal

Needles won Drag Race in 2012 and has since released two albums, including last year’s Taxidermy, on which “Hollywoodn’t” appears.

“There was a time there when I was seeing the bulls— of Hollywood, and that tends to happen when it’s all taken away from you,” added Needles of the track.

When it came time to shoot the video, the performer (born Aaron Coady) was inspired by real-life Hollywood horrors, like the deaths of Elizabeth “The Black Dahlia” Short, Jayne Mansfield and Manson Family murder victim Sharon Tate.

“I wanted to take that darkness and convey old Hollywood stories that turned up in tragedy,” said Needles, adding the focus was on “disturbing and sad stories of women who met their demise in Hollywood” and “dark satire and cruel humor at the expense of real women whose lives were unfortunately cut short. I have an obsession with Hollywood, and I have an obsession with death.”

As for the vibe of the song and video, Needles “wanted it to sound very much like a murdered, 16-year-old, teenage virgin at the bottom of a pound that would never be found.”